This blog is an attempt to preserve, document & share Pakistan's contemporary & traditional culinary heritage. It tells stories and shares recipes from my maternal grand mother and mother's kitchens along with my own stories and memories of growing up in Pakistan.

Sunday, 30 June 2013

Apologies for a month long radio
silence. June was busy.1st
10 days were unproductive due to a weird and stubborn strain of flu I had picked
up. The later half had been busy due to the visit from my favorite people on
planet earth. Oh the joys of sibling reunions. I do hope we get to use Star trek’s
“beam me up Scoty" teleporter transporter in our life times so atleast I could
see my favorite people for tea & samosay every evening. Oh how much I wish! Anyhow…let’s
get to cooking.

As a teenager I hated French beans
in any form what so ever. Somehow things
changed post teens. I developed appreciation for many foods which I disliked as
a teenager. I guess this is in some way what is called growing up! In Urdu language, French Green beans are
called Farash Beans. Its availability is seasonal in Pakistan and one can find
it easily as the autumn season begins around October. In my household it was
cooked with minced meat or with potatoes and eaten with chappati. A squeeze of
lemon adds magic to this dish. I remember having it for lunch after school as
the days became shorter and the afternoons brought winds blowing yellow leaves from
the trees announcing the arrival of autumn season. Quite a strange thing to remember!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

French Green Beans – 250 grams (I got them fresh, washed them, cut
them small and froze them for later use).

Minced Mutton – 500 grams (washed
and drained)

Tomato puree – 1 cup (Made from fresh tomatoes with 1 green chili)

Onions – 1 cup (finely chopped)

Onion – 1 medium sized (thinly
sliced in rings) – for frying

Green chili – 1 medium (chopped)

Oil – 4 Tbsp

Ginger/Garlic Paste – 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp (lightly
crushed in pestle mortar)

Coriander seeds – 1 tsp (lightly
crushed in pestle mortar)

Fenugreek Seeds (Methi Danay) – ½
tsp

Cinnamon stick – 2 ( 1 inch each)

Black Cardamom – 2 whole

Cloves – 5 whole

Dried whole red chilies - 3

Chili powder – ½ tsp

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Cumin powder – 1 tsp

Salt – ½ tsp (adjust to taste if more desired)

Lemon Juice (Freshly squeezed
juice of 1 medium sized lemon.

Fresh Coriander – for Garnish

Method:

Wash the minced meat in a sieve lined
with paper towel or chiffon cloth. Drain, squeeze the water out, set aside.

In a pan (it should have a lid) heat
4 tbsp of oil. Saute 1 cup of chopped onions on medium to high heat till they are light
brown.

After 10-15 sec of sauteing the
garlic/ginger paste, add minced meat. Break it with the wooden spoon and let it
cook and brown. It should cook for 8-10 mins on medium heat till the water
dries completely and its smell changes.

Add fresh tomato paste and half
of the chopped green chilies. Mix and cook over medium heat. Add salt, chili powder, cumin powder & turmeric powder. Add ¼ cup of water
to let the tomato puree and spices mix and cook completely. This will take around 10
minutes. The water should dry completely.

Once the minced meat is dry add
frozen or fresh green beans. Mix thoroughly. Add ¼ cup of water. Once it starts
simmering, reduce the heat to minimum and let it gently simmer for 20 minutes with the
lid on. The french green beans I used had very small beans in the pod so the cooking time
was less. If you are using the pods with bigger beans you would need more water
and longer simmer time to ensure they are cooked through. Adjust according to the need.

While the beans and minced meat
is getting simmered on low heat, fry the other onion cut in rings to very gentle brown color.
Keep aside.

Once the beans are tender and the
water has dried up with just a bit of juice in pan’s base, remove from the heat. Add
the fried onions & lemon juice. Mix thoroughly. Garnish with fresh coriander
and serve with roti.